Cause of Action Institute sued the Commerce Department "for failing to turn over public documents related to trade tariffs and tariff exemptions," the government transparency group said in an Oct. 18 news release. The group said in its complaint that Commerce failed to comply with public document requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Agencies are required to respond to FOIA requests within 20 days, but that time has elapsed and Commerce has not issued a final determination or released the records, the group said.
The Commerce Department seeks public comments on any subsidies, including stumpage, paid by certain countries that exported softwood lumber to the U.S. between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2018. Comments are due Nov. 19. The Softwood Lumber Act of 2008 requires Commerce to submit a report every 180 days on any subsidy provided by nations exporting softwood lumber or softwood products to the U.S., including subsidies for stumpage. Commerce is seeking input on subsidies paid by countries whose exports composed at least one percent of total U.S. softwood imports by quantity, as classified under tariff schedule subheading 4407.10.01, the agency said. International Trade Commission Tariff and Trade DataWeb information indicates that four countries -- Brazil, Canada, Germany and Sweden -- exported that much softwood lumber to the U.S. during that six-month period.
The Commerce Department issued its quarterly update to its annual list of foreign government subsidies on articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty that were imported during the period April 1 through June 30, 2018. The agency again found that only Canada is providing subsidies, in the form of export assistance.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 17:
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements seeks comments by Nov. 16 on potential changes to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement that would allow use of certain fibers and yarns that are not otherwise originating under KORUS. Fibers and yarns subject to the request from the government of South Korea include:
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 15:
The Commerce Department published notice in the Oct. 15 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 10:
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 9:
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 5: